HIGH SCHOOLS
Broward dominates all-state basketball first team
Northeast rising guard Jelani Hewitt was among a Broward-record eight players selected on the all-state boys' basketball first teams. Brandon Knight, Kenny Boynton Jr. and Khyle Marshall were repeat selections.
BY FABIAN LYON
flyon@MiamiHerald.com
There was no mistaking the imprint Broward County left on the all-state boys' basketball team released Tuesday.
Led by repeat first-team selections Khyle Marshall, a 6-6 swingman from Flanagan in 6A, and Pine Crest 6-4 guard Brandon Knight and American Heritage 6-3 shooting guard Kenny Boynton Jr. in 3A, Broward claimed eight of the 30 first-team spots and 14 overall among Class 1A-6A -- the most in county history.
Pine Crest, the two-time defending Class 3A state champion, and American Heritage each placed two players on the 3A first team, with Panthers 6-5 forward Ed Waite and Patriots point guard Ray Taylor joining Knight, the Gatorade National Player of the Year, and the McDonald's All-American Boynton, who is headed to Florida.
The all-state team was compiled from votes by Florida sportswriters and members of the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches.
Along with Waite and Taylor, Northeast's Jelani Hewitt (5A), Boyd Anderson's Martavious Irving (6A), who is bound for Kansas State, and Westlake Prep junior 6-7 forward Lyndon Davis earned first-team honors for the first time.
Hewitt's selection followed a breakthrough junior season in which the 6-2 guard established himself as one of the state's most explosive scorers and led a resurgence of the Hurricanes' program that culminated in an upset of then-reigning 5A state champion Dillard in the District 16-5A championship game.
Despite constant double-teams and multiple defenses designed to slow him, Hewitt -- who averaged a career-best 26 points and six assists -- had a 50-point outing, highlighted by 11 three-pointers.
''I knew that people were going to be coming after me,'' Hewitt said. ``It definitely boosted my confidence that I can still go on the court and play my game. I am definitely happy to make first team. That was definitely one of my goals, as well as putting Northeast back on the map.''
Hewitt has brought that offensive mind-set to the AAU summer league. The next in a long line of star guards, including Knight and Boynton, to play for Team Breakdown, Hewitt established himself as a legitimate high major prospect with a 45-point performance at the Tournament of Champions in North Carolina in May. Hewitt led Breakdown to the Elite Eight at the Walter Prather Memorial Classic in Atlanta and will look to bolster his stock at the Reebok All-American Camp on July 8 in Philadelphia.
''This gives me extra motivation to work even harder to stay on top,'' Hewitt said. ``I'm trying to get faster and stronger for next season. We have a young and talented team at Northeast. We're looking at big things.''
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